SECURE 2.0 Act Implementation Timeline for Retirement Plan Sponsors

Summary

This practice note summarizes chronologically the implementation timeline for retirement plan statutory rule changes to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) and Internal Revenue Code due to passage of the SECURE 2.0 Act (Pub. L. No. 117-328, Div. T) on December 29, 2022, which was included within the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023. The legislation is largely intended to incentivize individuals to save for retirement, increase flexibility in managing retirement savings, and ease the burdens of plan sponsorship, supplementing reforms enacted under the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act (Pub. L. No. 116-94, Div. O). This practice note covers the principal changes affecting ERISA-governed and tax-favored employer-sponsored retirement savings plans requiring administrative and/or documentation actions by plan sponsors.